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Archives for February 2007

Feb 28, 2007

Grade Inflation: That’s A Fourth Grade Question?

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Did anyone else watch Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? last night? I could say pure inertia made me watch it because it was on after American Idol (my guilty pleasure), but I’d be lying. My curiosity for a game show that sounds so simple – yet isn’t – forced me to watch. I generally rate my appreciation for game shows based on if I think I could do well on the show. Deal or No Deal? I could easily do that show. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I could do that, too, as long as Meredith let me ask her if she drinks around her kids. Jeopardy? OK, I’m not as good at that show, but I do feel proud when I can finish out an entire category.

My first reaction was one of smug superiority: with the questions they gave, I could clean up in this game. The first contestant couldn’t answer a single question without help! I found myself chanting the answers at the screen while he floundered for each question. The area of a triangle: 1/2 base times height…1/2 base times height…1/2 base times height! The second contestant was doing a little better, but still took a lot of time trying to find the right answers. The ship the pilgrims sailed on: the Mayflower! How hard is that?

OK, so the questions were easy for me. Yes, I’m a nerd who clearly paid attention in school, and has a ridiculous memory for useless information. And I’m not afraid to say I know the answers, which is probably why no one liked me in school. However, it was only the first episode, so I’m sure they will get to (many) questions I don’t know.

But here’s what I don’t get: these questions are supposed to match what the average fifth grader knows. I don’t know what freaky, gifted advanced-placement kids they hired for this show, but I doubt that the average fifth grader can tell you who was the first president to be impeached. (Andrew Johnson, by the way.) And the question about the area of a triangle seemed above an elementary school level. Are fifth graders really learning Geometry now? We didn’t cover that in school until eighth grade, and that was still ahead of many because I was in the accelerated math program.

I will watch the show again tonight. Partially because it once again follows Idol, and partially to see if the questions get any harder. I simply can’t believe that those questions are common knowledge for a fifth grade student. I also wonder what the qualifications are to be on the show? Do you think they let elementary school teachers play?

Filed Under: pop culture · Tagged:


Feb 27, 2007

The Era of Bad Bangs

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Kristen has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging others to come forth with visual proof of their bad bangs. Thankfully, I gave up bangs in favor of layers years ago (at least, I consider them layers and I’m sticking with my story), but her timing for this photo project couldn’t be better.

Just a few weeks ago, my mom brought me a photo album of pictures from high school. After reading Kristen’s post, I took a short walk down memory lane, and quickly ran screaming from the mountain of permed hair and hairspray that assaulted me.

I present High School: The Era of Bad Bangs

Pre-9th grade: The comb-over bangs (please excuse the Brooke Shields power eyebrows – I had yet to discover tweezers)

9th grade – the overgrown jungle of bangs cascading down half my face

10th grade – trying to grow them out, going for the comb-over method again (and check out the Hypercolor tee!)

11th grade – so much for growing them out – now they’re wispy and stuck together thanks to too much Aquanet

And finally 12th grade…

Proof that no one escaped the early 90’s without bad hair (my bad poodle hair with thick bangs is on the left, second row from the bottom)

After looking at all of that hair cut carnage, suddenly my childhood, late 70’s feathered cut doesn’t look so bad after all. Look at those lovely swept-aside bangs!

Filed Under: memories ·


Feb 27, 2007

Names That Didn’t Make The Cut

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As many of you know, Cordelia’s name came from Shakespeare – King Lear, to be exact. We’re considering going with another Shakespeare name for baby #2, although looking back through the plays, there are some names that probably won’t make the short list.

Unfortunate Shakespeare names for girls:

Ophelia (Hamlet) – Beautiful name. And I’d put it on my short list in an instant. But let’s be honest: mommy already suffers from a mental disorder (depression), and we really don’t need to encourage it in the kids.

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet) – Again, not a good role model here.

Desdemona (Othello) – She was innocent, but let’s not pick a name with domestic violence attached to it.

Volumnia (Coriolanus) – We’d just be encouraging fat jokes with this one.

Regan (King Lear) – Sorry, I lived through that president. Try again.

Goneril (King Lear) – I have a strict policy on no names that sound like STDs.

Violenta (All’s Well That Ends Well) – That name is just asking for a girl with a chip on her shoulder.

Hymen (As You Like It) – Forget the policy on STDs – no names that sound like anything dealing with reproductive organs.

Mopsa (The Winter’s Tale) – This is an especially bad name if she inherits the same mop of hair that Cordy has.

Dorcas (The Winter’s Tale) – No explanation needed, I think.

Maybe we should branch out to the works of Marlowe or Jonson?

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Feb 25, 2007

I’m Not Sorry My Child’s Presence Bothers You

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I know there are people in the world who are simply not interested in children and don’t like being around them. I can understand – kids can be a real handful and honestly, pretty annoying at times. But there are times when I am amazed that people can be so anti-child, especially with nothing provoking the response.

Today we were out at the mall, and decided to stop for lunch. We got our table, and Cordy was, at that moment, not interested in sitting down to eat. She cried for a couple of minutes, until we could settle in and find something to distract her. A banana did the trick, followed by crayons and paper to draw on. There was only one other occupied table in our area – a college-aged woman and an older woman. At one point while Cordy was crying, I made eye contact with the younger woman, who gave me a smile of understanding.

Only a few minutes later, all was happy and peaceful at our table. Cordy had a cup of milk to drink, and was spending her time coloring while Aaron and I chatted.

Five minutes later, the hostess comes by with an older couple, and tries to seat them at the table across from us. The woman quickly stops her and says, “No, we’d like somewhere more…quiet.” During that pause before the word “quiet” she turned around and glared at Cordy. The look could best be described as somewhere between I smell something bad and seething repulsion. The hostess offered to turn down the music in the restaurant before she understood the woman’s meaning and lead them to another section.

Aaron and I looked at each other and laughed. At the moment they came by, Cordy could have been the poster child for toddlers in public. She was quietly involved in coloring neatly on her paper, had her sippy cup of milk nearby without a drop spilling out of it, and the floor beneath her held no missing crayons, crumbs or other items from the tabletop. Not a sound was coming from her. I can only guess that this woman assumed that all children are loud and obnoxious, and fully expected Cordy to change into a screaming, food-throwing monster as soon as they sat down across from us.

(Or maybe she reads my blog and knows the tantrums Cordy is capable of? Nah, she didn’t look like the mommyblog-reading type.)

Did I point out that this is a family restaurant? As in, there is a large emphasis placed on children being there, with interesting knick-knacks on the walls, and an awesome kids menu coloring book. If the woman didn’t want to be around children, this was not the place to eat.

While we ate, several other families were seated, many with children. As we left, we looked around at the restaurant full of children and wondered where they managed to seat that couple that didn’t have kids around? We guessed they were next to the kitchen.

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Have you been over to my reviews blog lately? I have a new review posted about the book, Good Kids Bad Habits. If you’re looking for ways to get your kids to eat better, get more exercise, or take better care of themselves, you should check it out!

Filed Under: family time · Tagged:


Feb 22, 2007

I Think We Have A Resolution

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A quick update for all of you. First, thank you for some great advice on what to do in my previous post. I couldn’t sleep that night, tossing and turning and fretting about what to do. And then somewhere between waking and going to work yesterday, I got angry. This ridiculous mess was not going to interfere with my review if I had anything to say about it. I wasn’t going to take this kind of treatment, and I decided to fight back, knowing that I could make things worse by doing so.

Knowing that I can express myself far better in writing than in speaking, I wrote an enormous e-mail, practically a novella, to my supervisor, sharing all of my thoughts on the issue. I wrote a persuasive argument detailing why these accusations were little more than gossip without any specific incidents to point to, and that gossip is not valid for a performance review. I also pointed out that it is suspect that the only time anyone has ever had a problem with my performance is at review time, when it affects both my and their bonuses. Had I been given specific complaints, by the person who was making complaints, I would have made every effort to improve my level of service. But vague accusations by an unnamed person were hardly valid in my eyes.

Taking several deep breaths before sending the e-mail, I wondered if I was making a big mistake. Unlike a spoken conversation, I was giving the entire mess a paper trail, and my somewhat emotional defense could possibly be taken out of context. However, the alternative – taking this kind of abuse – was less appealing, so I hit send and waited for the storm I started to come my way.

About half an hour later, I received an e-mail from my supervisor, giving me more details on what was going on. The tone had changed entirely, and he told me he thought the problem stemmed from two different chains of command having two different sets of expectations for me. (The actual expectations for my job come mostly from the advisor side of things, not from the campus staff side of things, but they apparently don’t see it that way.) It seems that the staff at that campus expected me to be up at the front desk with them if I wasn’t actively working with a student, serving as their backup. My supervisor stressed that he had never had this expectation for me, and didn’t realize they did.

I do spend most of my time in my office. If I’m not in an appointment, I need to be available if the call center receives a student call that requires an advisor, or if I receive an e-mail from one of my students. Timely response is something the advisors pride ourselves on. Sitting out at the front desk would mean I would be sitting there with nothing to do, just to keep them company, and I wouldn’t be able to hear my phone if needed. I’m always happy to help out at the front desk if the staff needs me, and I do so at least once a week, but spending every free minute up there in case they need me is a waste of my time. It’s easy for them to call for me if they need help.

Replying to my supervisor’s e-mail, I told him all of this, and not 15 minutes later, I received a phone call from him. He told me he wanted to apologize because he felt that none of this had anything to do with my actual performance, and they now realize the problem is with both chains of command not setting out and agreeing on clear expectations. He agreed with me that this wouldn’t have even been a problem had someone simply asked me, “hey, could you come up front a little more when you’re not busy?” and he is disappointed that it was handled in such a way.

He spoke to his supervisor about this, and she agreed that I’m not at fault for something no one told me about, and that it shouldn’t be reflected on my review. The push from the director of the campus, who wanted my bonus slashed for poor performance, will not be included in final decisions. My supervisor ended by saying once again that he, and his supervisor, were sorry for putting me through all of this, and they would be speaking with the director of the campus to set out some clear and realistic expectations for my position that everyone agrees on, so that this will never happen to anyone else in this position.

Until I actually sit down for my formal review and find out what my bonus will be, I’m still a little hesitant to celebrate. Even though he said it won’t impact my review, I want to make sure nothing is even implied in writing before I can feel satisfied. And this still isn’t over yet, either. I now have the name of the person who made the complaints (it was the person I thought), and I must take steps to sit down and talk with her, letting her know that in the future I’d like her to please direct any issues she has about how I do my job to me first. It’s funny that she is so assertive when dealing with the staff under her direction, but she couldn’t bother to tell me she didn’t like the way I do my job. It is an unpleasant conversation I’m not looking forward to, but hopefully it will help to smooth things over. Or at least stop her from playing the role of mean girl with me again.

I really think your comments here helped give me the courage to stand up and fight. Can I buy everyone cookies and milkshakes as a thank you? And I’m so thankful for my abilities in writing, because there’s no way I could have put up a fight if forced to defend myself verbally. See kids? Writing is a good thing. Stay in school.

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Filed Under: the J-O-B ·